


Silent Night

by kunstvogel



Series: Winnix Vignettes [1]
Category: Band of Brothers
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Canon Era, Canon-Typical Violence, Episode: s01e06 Bastogne, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-10
Updated: 2016-05-10
Packaged: 2019-02-14 13:41:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 535
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13009026
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kunstvogel/pseuds/kunstvogel
Summary: "Just once."





	Silent Night

**Author's Note:**

> Tumblr prompt fill for jouissant.

Lewis swears it’s been the coldest winter of his life. Even his whiskey is chilled to near-freezing, the metal canteen absorbing the cold in the air. He only takes little sips, these days. There’s no telling how long the war will go on, and Dick’s footlocker is only so big. On his way back from Battalion, Lew spots Harry, Dick, and Peacock all hunkered down around something. He catches a whiff of something earthy, like wood burning.

“I swear I thought I could smell a fire,” he murmurs as he trudges up to the men. Sure enough, one of them has kindled a small flame within a small crater in the frozen soil.

“I  _ did _ smell a fire,” he remarks, casually dropping down beside Dick and resting an elbow on his knee for support. “Are you out of your mind?” Lew spreads his hands out regardless, attempting to thaw out his fingers.

“Well, we’re in a dell,” Dick says, quirking a smile.

Lewis looks up at him. “Huh?”

“It’s a-” Dick is interrupted by a familiar loud whistle, and he shoves Lew over. “Down!”

Lew scrambles for cover as the mortar hits, kicking up dirt and snow into the air. The whistle of a second round is drowned out by a sound Lew had been afraid of hearing throughout the entire war - a ragged scream of agony, coming from his best friend. He’s at Dick’s side in an instant, fumbling for his aid kit as Harry approaches.

“Put out the fire,” Lew orders, looking over Dick’s wound. It’s bad, his right thigh a gaping, bleeding mess where his ODs tore. Dick fights the pain valiantly, gritting his teeth, his head thrown back into the snow as Harry cries out for a medic. Lew pushes his hands up hard against the wound to staunch the blood flow and Dick muffles his cries as best as he can, breaths whistling quickly in and out of his nose. He’s too pale already.

“I need an A-jeep to 2nd Battalion CP,” Peacock barks into the radio.

“Hear that, Dick? Jeep’s on the way. Hang tough, right?” Lew reaches for Dick’s hand, squeezing it tightly, and Dick relaxes somewhat. His eyes crack open to look up at Lew.

“Hey, don’t you go dying on me now,” Lew says. “Doc’ll fix you right up, y’hear? You’re not done fightin’ yet.”

“Thanks, Lew,” Dick whispers, smiling faintly “You’re a good man.”

Lewis scoffs. “Whatever you say, Dick.” Harry tugs his coat off and spreads it over Dick just before Roe finally shows up, looking dazed. Nix shouts at him and he snaps out of it, dropping to his knees beside Dick and setting to work.

Lew manages to hold himself together through the trip to the hospital, but once Dick is taken out of his sight he collapses into the nearest chair, wracked with silent sobs. He finds himself praying, fervently and desperately, to a God he’d not thought of since Easy was thrown into combat. Lew digs the rosary beads out of his breast pocket and clutches them in his fist, dropping his head down.

“Please, just let something good stay in my life,” Lewis begs, his voice breaking. “Just once.”


End file.
